Drug known as "Pink" Not meant for Humans causing Overdoses

Mar 22, 2017 at 09:06 am by bryan


A drug developed in the 1970s and never approved for human use by the FDA is emerging as a street-level drug now linked to multiple deadly overdoses across the country.

The drug, U-47700, also called "Pink" due to its color, is an opioid more potent than heroin.

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"The drug was manufactured in the 1970s by Upjohn Company," Dr. Donna Seger, Executive Director of the Tennessee Poison Center said. "It decreases your respiration, it decreases your heart rate and it causes you to become unconscious."

Dr. Seger said the drug is manufactured and used in other countries and it is usually purchased by people in the United States via the internet.

The DEA added U-47700 to its Schedule I narcotic list in 2016 after multiple drug overdoses.

Pink can be combined with heroin or any number of drugs. It can be inhaled, injected or pressed into pills that are almost indistinguishable from traditional medications, according to the Tennessee Poison Center question of the week on March 9.

Like Fentanyl, use of Pink on the street often means the dosage is unknown and the person taking the drug does not have access to medical instruments to help with breathing and heart function.

Drugs like this are also called designer drugs, and they hit the streets faster than legislators can outlaw them.

Dr. Seger said the Tennessee Poison Center has received one call about Pink, but the drug has been linked to overdoses in Kentucky.

Source:

Partner Station WMSR via WKRN

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